Running has become a cheap alternative to practicing an outdoor sport. Whether you have just started or a veteran with many kilometers behind you, we recommend a series of exercises to complement this activity and avoid possible injuries.
Running is a sport that has become a trend due to its many advantages for our health, such as the loss of fat mass, improved cardiovascular level (resistance), stress release. Still, above all, there is a very important factor in the low economic cost that this represents to people who decide to start independently. Discover strength exercises as a perfect complement to improve your marks.
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The strength in running
Although the main quality in the running is indeed resistance, many of the current studies and in recent years have begun to give full prominence to force, even going so far as to classify the different sports modalities as “manifestations of force” by what running would be classified as a Strength-Endurance sport.
And it is that the level of strength of a person will mark the time and distance that he can maintain in the race since, without force in the muscles involved, he will not be able to develop this modality. This is why a small strength routine before the race (after the warm-up) is so important in running runners and introducing a minimum of two gym days for specific strength work.
Why do we work force?
- Prevent injuries by preparing the muscles to withstand the repeated impacts of running.
- The efficiency of your running technique during the different phases of support and propulsion delays the onset of fatigue.
Musculature involved
- Quadriceps: stabilize the knee and absorb shocks during the run (stance phase).
- Hamstring muscles: generate force when executing the stride.
- Tibialis anterior: cushioning the body’s weight, it is the first muscle that is overloaded, especially in amateur runners or bad running techniques.
- Calves and Soleus: Propulsion of the race
- Gluteus Maximus: stabilization of the spine and propulsion in the race.
- Gluteus Medius and Abductors: stabilization of the hip during the stride.
- Core (Abdominal Zone + Lumbar Zone): these allow you to lean your body forward, stabilizing the trunk during the race. In this way, the body’s center of gravity shifts slightly forward and allows its weight to be distributed during it.
The higher the strength level of these muscles, the more efficient our running technique will be, delaying the onset of fatigue.
Strength exercises
In this section, we indicate exercises for the strength work of a runner. We have divided it into those that need to be done inside a fitness room and those that we could do outdoors due to their type and material.
Analytical Exercises (Fitness Room)
- Horizontal Press.
- Execution with two legs.
- Execution with one leg.
- Squat with Multipower machine.
- Deadlift.
- Gluteal Bridge.
- Gluteal kick.
- Abduction machine.
- Calf and Soleus Elevation Machine.
- Hip Thrust.
- Abdominal Plank. Frontal, lateral and in instability.
- Proprioception work (Instability). Balances on bosu on one leg.
* Remember to always request the supervision of a fitness technician before and during the performance of these exercises during the initiation to them so that you internalize a correct technique.
Functional Exercises (Fitness Room or natural environment)
- Stride (Lunge) lateral, frontal and backwards.
- Forward Stride (Scissors)
- Stride with an ascent to the bench plus opposite leg elevation.
- Alternate strides on a bench.
- Stride hopping (Jumping Lunge)
- Lunge with the back leg resting on the bench. (Bulgarian Squat)
- Squat Jump.
- Box Jump going down with one leg. (initiated), both legs (advanced)
- Side openings with Mini-band.
- Squats in Isometry: maintaining the position with knees bent at an angle of 90-110º and back resting on the surface (wall, tree trunk, bench)
- Mountain Climbers.
* Remember that all those exercises indicated in the open air; you can do them inside a Fitness room.
